It Will Take Time
by sunlessShipper
Summary: When Lapis was told she could live in the barn, she hadn't expected her former tormentor to be there. When Peridot was visited by Steven, she hadn't expected him to be accompanied by her super powerful ex-prisoner. Lapis Lazuli wants nothing to do with her imprisoning Peridot. Peridot wants everything to do with her awe-striking Lazuli. (Eventual Lapidot!)
1. Lapis 1

When Steven told her she could live in the barn, she thought everything was going to be okay.

She thought that maybe, just maybe, she'd finally have a place she could call home. Yeah, right.

She should have known there would be a catch. There's always a catch. There's always a problem, a fault, a loophole. In this case, it was a Peridot. _The_ Peridot. The same starforsaken Peridot that trapped her on that ship, manipulated her for information.

Lapis refused to live with her, but Steven insisted. He said that Peridot had 'changed'. Lapis wanted to laugh. Ha, she'd been tempted to say. Change? What is that? No one can ever change. It's not in a gem's nature.

Instead, she gave it a shot– and not only did she end up saving her ex-tormentor, but was now living with her in Steven's barn ('You're roommates', he'd exclaimed in delight.)

Lapis was pretty sure even Garnet with her future vision hadn't seen this coming.

Peridot, to her credit, was obviously trying to make sure Lapis felt at 'home away from home', comforting her with the thought that 'These cloddy Earth residences aren't as bad as they look' and that she'd 'soon get used to it!'

Lapis didn't bother telling her that it wasn't the barn that bothered her, but the other gem herself. It wasn't worth it.

Steven had just left with the other Crystal Gems, leaving Lapis and her new 'roomie' alone.

Lapis had immediately flown over to her side of the room and rolled over on her bed, away from Peridot, clutching her precious leaf near her. She hoped that Peridot would get the hint and leaf (heh, pun), but no such luck.

"Hey, Lazuli!" the green gem grinned, sitting next to her.

Lapis rolled over.

Peridot scurried over to the side she was facing.

"You know, Earth culture says that when someone says hi, you say hi back," she informed.

"Really."

Either Peridot wasn't very good at picking up on sarcasm, or she was choosing to ignore it. "Yeah. Oh, are you holding a…. What is that? A human weapon?"

"Leaf."

"What does it do?"

Lapis raised an eyebrow. "It changes colors."

That made Peridot laugh quite a bit. Lapis was tempted stab her right on the gem, or at least fly away, but both actions required too much effort than she was willing to give. Instead, she buried her face in her pillow.

Peridot was practically choking with laughter.

"B-but," she gasped, "That's ridiculous! Even a common pearl if placed correctly under light can do that! Earth sure is weird."

Lapis sighed. "It doesn't _work_ like that."

"And at least a pearl can perform tasks for you," Peridot continued to ramble loudly. "What does this 'leaf' do? Talk about a wasted case."

"It's pretty."

"So's a pearl."

Lapis raised her eyebrow again, more surprised this time. Wasn't there a pearl in Steven's group? She distinctly remembered one. Peridot seemed to realize her mistake. She blushed bright lime.

"I didn't– You– That's not what I meant!" she fumed. "They're– She's beneath me in every way possible! Well, except maybe in building things. That robot was a worthy opponent. But still not what I meant!"

"Calm down," Lapis said idly. Peridot was definitely a sight to see when all flustered like this, but the ocean gem wasn't in the mood right now. "I don't care if you like Pearl or not."

Her words had the opposite effect. Peridot's jaw dropped. "I do not harbor feelings of any sort for the Pearl! She's just a mildly talented servant of the– I mean, of Steven's!"

"Mm."

The shorter of the two shook her head aggressively as though trying to shake off water. "Geez, Lazuli, did you stay in the ground too long or something? How can you even suggest that?!"

"You're the only certified Kindergartner here," Lapis said coolly.

Peridot apparently took that as a compliment. "Wow, thanks," she preened.

Lapis sighed. "Look… Peridot. I don't want to talk to you right now. Can you just go back to doing whatever you do?"

The tech expert frowned. "But roommates are supposed to spend time together doing 'fun' things." She made quotation marks with her fingers. "Steven said so."

"I think he meant roommates that don't hate each other," Lapis muttered. Peridot's face fell.

"You still… hate me? But I gave you all those Earth presents! And you saved me from that Yellow Diamond ship! I thought that we had sealed some sort of no-hate-pact with that!"

Lapis mulled that over for a moment. Peridot, for all her annoying-ness, had a point. She _had_ tried to be nothing but nice, and Lapis _had_ ended up saving her. Honestly, Lapis still wasn't sure why she'd done that. It's not like she owed this former captor anything. She must have not been thinking right or something.

But– Well. Peridot's after-smile had been pretty rewarding. Lapis actually had had to fight back a blush. A BLUSH.

She cleared her throat. "I– No, I don't hate you. But I don't like you. And I want some time alone."

Peridot nodded, still a little upset but definitely more uplifted.

"Okay. I'll come and see if you're doing alright in a few months."

Lapis didn't tell her that time worked differently on Earth.

She'd like a few solitary months.


	2. Peridot 1

It wasn't fair.

Peridot had changed, had become a _whole new freaking gem,_ and her only audience member that wasn't Steven or a Crystal Clod didn't even care.

She kicked at a paint can moodily.

It. Wasn't. Fair.

Okay, so maybe Lazuli had a point in being mad at her. After all, she _had_ been a prisoner on their ship and been forced for information she knew nothing of. But still. Couldn't she just let that go already? How long could a gem like her hold a grudge, anyway? A few years?

Peridot could wait.

Of course she could.

She'd be Peridot the Patient. Persevering Peri. Perfect, patient, persevering Peri. And it'd all work out in the end like it did in Camp Pining Hearts: With smiles and reconciliations.

Encouraged by this rosy fantasy, Peridot straightened up and started to walk back to the barn. Lazuli would definitely be happy to see her. She'd been alone for what, a few weeks now? Probably feeling lonely and in need of a great and lovable Peridot.

Kicking some more stray cans out of the way, she entered the barn cheerfully.

"HEY, LAZULI!" she yelled. "ARE YOU HERE? I'M BACK!"

A shuffling sound came from upstairs, and soon Lazuli's blue head poked from around the corner.

"Peridot. What are you doing here?"

"I thought you might need some company," Peri chirped. Lazuli would definitely appreciate this thoughtful gesture. Maybe her cheeks would get all blue again. Peridot wasn't sure entirely sure what that gesture meant, but it suited the taller gem for some reason.

Instead, Lazuli scowled. "It's only been half hour."

Peridot blinked. "Wait, what? You're sure you're not wrong? I was sure weeks had passed."

Lazuli's scowl deepened. "Positive."

"Huh. That's weird. Earth time is so confusing, especially without my limb enhancers' computers to calculate it."

"Limb enhancers?"

Peridot raised her head importantly, always eager to discuss her phenomenal technological advances. "Yeah. My lengthened robotic arms and legs, designed not only to give me a more heightened appearance but also to serve as search engines for the entire cosmos. They were so cool. Unfortunately–" (here her tone soured) "–They got thrown away."

Lazuli didn't seem to be paying attention. She was eyeing Peridot strangely. The green gem felt suddenly self-conscious.

"What?"

"So that's why you're shorter," Lazuli deadpanned. "I _though_ t something was different."

Peridot felt heat rise to her face. "I am not _short!_ I am designed just as all the other peridots on Homeworld! We have no need to heighten our length; the only reason I had those limb enhancers to begin with was to prove my technological superiority over all the other peridots-"

"Well," Lazuli interrupted in the same bored tone she used for everything, "You're the only peridot I've ever met, and I find you short. So that's all I can say on the matter."

"I'm not- Wait, I'm the only peridot you've ever met?"

Peridot wasn't sure why she was so… _pleased_ to hear this news. All she knew was that she hated the idea of any other peridot interacting with Lazuli before her. Maybe it was her competitive streak kicking in. She made a note to record that later in her log.

Lazuli hadn't bothered answering the question. She was going back up.

Peridot sighed. Friendship was harder than it looked.

"See you later, Lazuli!" she called.

The water gem didn't answer.


	3. Lapis 2

"Do you want any dinner?"

Lapis looked up absentmindedly from the comic she was reading. Steven had left her a whole stack, hoping that she might gain interest in one or two. So far, Lapis hadn't cared for any. Not that she'd tell Steven that.

"Dinner?"

Peridot shrugged. "It's a human thing. You know how they need to consume earth sustenance three times a day or more? Yeah, well they name each time they eat." She leaned forward conspiratorially. "The intervals are called _snacks_."

Lapis looked back down at the comic.

"I know you probably don't eat, since you're superior in every way to those gemless critters, and I know I don't eat either, but it might be a 'fun' thing to do, right?"

Lapis sighed. "Do you always do that?"

Peridot blinked. "Do what?"

"Scorn the humans. Every time so far that you've mentioned them, it's to dismiss their abilities and stamina or whatever. I find it kind of… obnoxious."

Peridot blinked again. "Lazuli, they're _humans._ They can't even stay awake twenty four hours. They're pretty much pathetic."

Lapis sighed again, more in annoyance this time.

Peridot had left her alone almost three hours now, and she was finally starting to relax, but noooo. Of course it wouldn't last. Of course she had let the other gem rope her into a debate. And for what? Humans. Lapis didn't even care about humans (Steven being the exception, of course.)

"But that's not their fault. It's just how they were made," she said. "And since you're living on their planet, it'd be nicer of you to show some more respect. You wouldn't like it if one of them came over to Homeworld and started dissing it, would you?"

Peridot laughed sarcastically. "A human in Homeworld? Geez, Lazuli, you're weird. A human's brain would probably explode before understanding any of the technology required to gain access."

"Steven's a human," Lapis reminded softly.

"Steven's also half gem. I call it his better half." Peridot actually had the nerve to smile at this, like it was all some sort of joke. "It was Amethyst's idea. She's funny."

"Funny."

"Yeah! It's like this thing where you say what you think of someone and someone else makes a snorty breathy sound-"

"I know what being funny is," Lapis interrupted.

"Oh…" Peridot looked thrown off track. "Oh, okay. I guess. That's… unusual."

Lapis frowned. "What is?"

"Well, when I first came here, I didn't know what funny was. On Homeworld, we have better things to do than say our opinions and watch others' reactions to them." Peridot's jaw jutted out a little when she said this, like she was daring Lapis to contradict her. "But you're a Homeworld gem too. And you knew…"

"You're a Kindergartener," Lapis said with a shrug. "Maybe that has something to do with it."

 _It would explain a lot._

"You might be right." Peridot sounded unconvinced. She thoughtfully took a seat next to where Lapis was resting. The blue gem frowned at her, but begrudgingly moved a little to make her room.

"You know," Peridot said after a moment, "I always thought I was better than all the other peridots, intelligence-wise. And all the other lesser gems in general. And the humans too. Especially the humans. I mean, have you _seen_ how they're made?"

Lapis grunted noncommittally.

"But after crash landing here…" the tech expert paused. "It feels like I know nothing. It's a whole new world, and I'm pretty much useless, even with my superior knowledge. But still, although I'm no use, everyone still wants to hear what I have to say. It might be wrong, it might be stupid, but they'll still want to hear it. And I thought I was better, with my larger-range knowledge, but I still didn't know what funny was."

She stood up.

"Humans are stupid, cloddy, and pretty much dysfunctional in every single way. But they know how to make bring you down when you've gotten too high."

Walking to the door, she stopped, turning around expectantly.

"See you at dinner, Lazuli?"

Lapis could only nod, and the door closed with a creak.


	4. Peridot 2

If she were on Homeworld, she would have been shattered for sure.

What had she been thinking, spilling out her inner thoughts and feelings like that? Lazuli wasn't her log. She was just another gem. A superior one to Peridot, actually… If anything, Lazuli had the right of speech here. Peridot, as her inferior, should be listening and taking orders. But Earth was weird, and castes weren't applied, and Lazuli wasn't any old superior gem.

Lazuli was… different.

Oh, why did everything have to be so flipping _complicated_?

Peridot sighed as she picked up her tape recorder. "Log date 7 16 5… I have made a grave error. As per usual at this point, if I'm being honest. In my attempts to befriend the lazuli, I accidentally… shared some self-demeaning views with her."

She bit her lip awkwardly. For stars' sake, this was ridiculous. And embarrassing.

"My original objective was to invite her to human dinner, but I got… sidetracked, and soon we were in heated discussion over a human's usefulness. This was not my original intention, and I shudder to think what Yellow Diamond would have thought of such sidetrack-"

She cut herself off abruptly. "Oh. Wait. I'd like to make a log correction: I'm not with Yellow Diamond anymore. I'm a Crystal Cl-Gem. I keep on forgetting that."

Suddenly having lost the will to continue the entry, Peridot clicked the stop button and rewinded, listening to her own voice playing back at her: ' _Log date 7 16 5… I have made a grave error. As per usual at this point-"_

"You're really fond of that tape recorder, aren't you?"

Peridot whirled around, wide-eyed.

"Gahh! What are you doing here? It's not time for the dinner yet!"

"I came to see who you were talking to," Lazuli said. One of her eyebrows was raised."I hadn't guessed it would be yourself."

"Why shouldn't I talk to myself?" Peridot demanded. She could feel her cheeks warm up self-consciously, although she wasn't sure what that meant or why she was doing it. She thought everyone knew of her log. "I'm the great and lovable Peridot! Everyone would like to talk to me! I'm kind of a big deal, you know."

"Really."

"Oh, yeah, definitely. I called Yellow Diamond a clod and everything. Now I'm with these guys." She gestured around the empty barn, as if Steven and his crew were present with her. "They have no idea how lucky they are to have me. I'm the best technological expert around."

"Which is why they left you in a barn?"

"Wh- _No_!" Peridot scowled. "I wanted to stay here."

"Okay," Lazuli shrugged. She was so casual with everything. Peridot kind of wanted to strangle her for it, but she wouldn't dare. Strangling someone probably wouldn't make them want to be friends with you. "So is that like your diary?"

"It's my log," Peridot said, wondering what a diary was and if it maybe was some kind of weapon. "I record my thoughts and observations in it."

"Every day?"

"Sometimes more."

"Huh. You must like it a lot."

Peridot shrugged in fake boredom, although her grip secretly tightened around the tape recorder. "It's okay, I guess. Nothing compared to Homeworld's tech, of course, but what can you do? Now that my limb enhancers are gone…"

"If you like it so much," Lazuli said, "why did you try giving it to me?"

Peridot had asked herself the same thing.

"I wanted you to feel more at home, I suppose. When I first got here and Steven gave this to me, I felt oddly comforted and back in touch with my talents. Technology's my thing, you know. I'm top notch with mechanics. Pretty much the best there is."

"You mentioned it earlier."

"It's worth mentioning again, that's how good I am." Peridot preened momentarily before continuing with her little speech. "And since you didn't like anything we made for _you_ , I decided to try giving you a part of _me_ instead. Not that that worked, but it was worth a try."

Lazuli didn't say anything for a second. When she spoke, her voice was even. "Can I try recording something?"

Peridot's first thought was to say no. Her log was precious, sacred. It contained all her personality, practically, and she wasn't sure that she wanted Lazuli toying around with that. But on the other hand- she'd given the log to Lazuli once before, why not again? Maybe Lazuli would warm up to her a little faster this way. Sharing was something friends did, right…?

She slowly handed the tape over. Lazuli took it, and their hands met briefly, Peridot quickly yanking hers away and flushing green. Touching people made her feel… weird. It was such an un-Homeworld thing to do.

Lazuli was no exception to this. If anything, she was worse. Touching Lazuli gave her a fluttery feeling inside, like a bunch of flappy Earth insect things had trapped themselves inside her and were now trying to escape. Maybe it was an Earth illness? Peridot hoped not.

"Don't break it."


End file.
